Carmel College & Synagogue

Name:

Carmel College and Synagogue

Address:

Mongewell Park, near Wallingford, Oxfordshire (previously Berkshire), OX10 8BT

The college was initially situated at Greenham Common, near Newbury, Berkshire (until 1953)

Formation:

The College was founded in 1948 by Rabbi Dr. Kopel Rosen. It was the first and only Jewish Public School in the UK.

Closure:

The College closed in 1997

The Synagogue:

The Carmel College Synagogue (built 1963-4), designed by Thomas Hancock and dedicated by Chief Rabbi Israel Brodie, was located in the heart of the campus. The roof was supported by four massive beams of Scandinavian wood, which curved upwards from the entrance of the portico to a concrete wall some fifty feet high. The curtains of the Ark were made of brass chains interspersed with pieces of silver, brass bronze and copper sheeting. The stained glass windows, created in part by the students, were exceptional and close to the entrance was a monument to the victims of the Holocaust.

Headmasters: (To view a short profile of a name appearing in blue - hold the cursor over the name.)

Rabbi Dr. Kopul Rosen - from 1948 until 1962

David Stamler - from 1962 until 1971⁽ⁱⁱ⁾

(Joshua Gabay - Acting Headmaster during early 1971)

Rabbi Jeremy Rosen (the eldest son of Kopul Rosen) - from 1971 until 1984

Philip Skelker - from 1984 until 1997⁽ⁱⁱⁱ⁾

Registration District:

Oxfordshire, from 1 October 2001^(iv) - Link to Register Office website.